Ottawa Holding ‘Behind the Scenes’ Talks with Pot-Shop Advocates

Bill Blair, the federal government’s lead on legalizing marijuana, has been quietly meeting with advocates for the illegal pot shops springing up across the country, hearing their arguments for how regulating the sector could help eliminate the black market.

Mr. Blair blasted dispensary operators at a recent conference as reckless profiteers “who don’t care about the law, who don’t care about regulations, don’t care about kids, they don’t care about communities, they don’t care about health of Canadians.” But days later, the Liberal MP and former Toronto Police chief held a series of informal “behind the scenes” talks at the the party’s convention in Winnipeg, according to Rosy Mondin, a Vancouver lawyer who recently co-founded the non-profit Cannabis Trade Alliance of Canada, which represents legal and illegal marijuana business owners.

Ms. Mondin said he appeared “engaged and interested” as she made the case for the Liberal government to license private cannabis dispensaries and their small-scale growers.